Grandpa Meng had also considered this, so he explained to his son, "We're not making a big move. We'll just add a hundred mu of land first. It's not a big deal."
Fu Yu thought that buying only a hundred mu of land, in addition to their existing fields, would make them the equivalent of a small landlord. In the eyes of those big landlords, it truly wasn't much, so she didn't object further.
When the Meng family announced their intention to buy land, people naturally came forward.
Grandfather and father were handling these matters, so Fu Xin Ci didn't bother to worry about them.
Counting the days as they passed, Fu Xin Ci stood at the courtyard entrance, hand shading her eyes as she gazed into the distance under the scorching sun, completely forgetting that she was still standing in the sun and about to sweat profusely.
"Sister." Ning'er, who was cooling off in the shade of a tree, saw his sister standing still for a long time, her temples damp with sweat. He thoughtfully ran over and took her hand.
Holding Ning'er's sweaty little hand, she sat down with him in the shade.
However, the weather in June felt like it was being burned by fire. No matter where you sat, you were covered in sweat.
"Alas, on such a hot day, it would be wonderful to have watermelon from Jingshui Town."
Grandpa Meng thought that their own watermelon had not yet ripened and felt a little regretful. "We planted our watermelon too late. I checked again this morning, and there wasn't anything ripe to pick."
His grandfather's words promptly reminded Fu Xin Ci that she had watermelon seeds in her space. How could she have forgotten about this? She would definitely find an opportunity to cheat later.
After Ning'er went down for his nap, she secretly slipped out the back door and planted a few watermelon seeds under a rather secluded tree.
To make it look more realistic, the spacing between the plants was not uniform. As for using her wood-element ability, that went without saying.
She didn't stop until several green watermelon seedlings each bore a large watermelon, which she then ripened.
She even deliberately moved one large watermelon closer to an area with a clear view, ensuring that they could see it from the north window of the small building.
When Ning'er woke up, he came to look for his sister. Fu Xin Ci intentionally led him to the north window. It wasn't cool there at this hour either.
Ning'er, supported by his sister, leaned on the railing and looked into the distance.
The little fellow suddenly spotted a round, dark green object and pointed it out to his sister, "Sister, what is that?"
"Wow, it looks like a watermelon."
"Watermelon?" When the little fellow heard his sister say that the round object was a watermelon, he couldn't stay put any longer. He grabbed his sister's hand and ran downstairs.
"Ning'er, slow down."
"Sister, Ning'er is in a hurry. Ning'er wants to eat watermelon." Ning'er finished speaking and pulled his sister along, hurrying towards the back door.
"Miss?" Chunyu didn't understand what was happening.
"Ning'er just saw something outside the back wall from upstairs. I took a closer look and it seems like a watermelon."
"Really?" Chunyu's excitement was no less than Ning'er's.
The commotion here alerted the elder who was dozing under the shade of a tree, holding a fan.
Grandpa Meng seemed to have heard his granddaughter mention watermelon, so he stood up and came over to take a look.
Ning'er was pulling his sister and had almost reached the back door when he looked back and saw his grandfather. He called out loudly, "Grandfather, come quickly! Sister and I just saw watermelon behind the house from upstairs."
"Is there really watermelon?" The elder was still a little disbelieving.
"It looks like it, but I don't know for sure. Ning'er is about to go and see, so we're going together."
"Then let's go and see together." The elder's interest was piqued, and he exuded about six or seven parts of his usual spirited demeanor.
Ning'er knew his grandfather would go with him, so he let go of his sister's hand and pulled on his grandfather's clothes as they went out the back door.
Outside the back door of the Meng family's house, fruit trees were planted, mostly apple and hawthorn trees. At this time, the fruit trees were also laden with many small green fruits, each like a little green lantern.
On a normal day, Ning'er would have surely clamored to pick a few to play with, but today he had forgotten. He kept pulling his grandfather along the small path between the fruit trees.
"Grandfather, it's there." The little fellow pointed at the large, round watermelon ahead, let go of his grandfather's clothes, and ran over happily.
Grandpa Meng also saw it. He hadn't expected such large watermelons to grow in the grass outside the back garden wall.
The elder followed his grandson and also trotted over.
"Oh my." When the elder clearly saw that several watermelon vines had grown nearby, each vine bearing a large watermelon, and there were seven or eight smaller melon buds, his expression of joy was no less than his grandson's.
Ning'er was impatient. He jumped on his little feet, bouncing, "Grandfather, Ning'er wants to eat watermelon."
"Ning'er, wait a moment. Grandfather will see if this watermelon is ripe." Grandpa Meng squatted down and gently tapped the rind. Hearing a "bang bang bang" sound, the elder immediately rejoiced.
"My grandson has good fortune. Several mu of watermelon we planted this year are not yet ripe, and you spotted ripe ones just by looking over the railing. It's truly unfair!"
Fu Xin Ci didn't expect her grandfather to say such a thing and wanted to laugh, but she held back.
Ning'er was anxious. Hearing his grandfather say that the watermelon he found was edible, his eyes curved into crescent moons with joy.
"Grandfather, Ning'er wants to eat watermelon now."
"Ning'er, wait a moment. Grandfather will check if these two watermelons are ripe too." The elder then moved to the side of the other two watermelons. After tapping them, he heard that they were all ripe. The wrinkles on his face deepened, and he continuously praised his grandson for being so perceptive.
Ning'er was so pleased that his tail was about to wag into the sky.
Three large watermelons were picked. Grandpa Meng, Fu Xin Ci, and Chunyu each carried one.
Ning'er wanted to help, but as a small child, he couldn't carry one at all.
After dinner, the family had their wish fulfilled and ate watermelon from Jingshui Town.
As the last ray of the sunset faded in the west, Old Jin led a group of youths behind him and galloped out of the mountains.
Through the hazy night, looking at the bumpy dirt road ahead, Old Jin reined in his mount.
He looked back at the mountains hidden in the darkness, like a giant beast that could swallow them at any moment.
"Dad."
"Uncle Jin."
Meng Yuluo and Qi He spoke almost simultaneously. Old Jin smiled and pointed in the direction where faint lights could be seen ahead, saying, "Let's run a bit further. We'll rest there today."
"Alright."
They must have passed this place before, but in the blink of an eye, several years had passed, and they no longer remembered.
In a short while, the group finally reached the village ahead. At this hour, most families were sitting in their courtyards eating dinner.
To provide light, a bonfire was lit in the middle of the courtyard, which could illuminate the area and also repel mosquitoes.